Investment Approach

Quick Facts about working with EPEG:

Eurasian Private Equity Group invests on behalf of a variety of investment partners. An initial investment can be as small as USD100,000 for subscription to the European Union-regulated EPEG Small Company Buyout Fund and from USD200,000 for individual projects. For more information about subscribing to the EPEG Small Company Buyout Fund, review the downloadable brochures and contact us for a Memorandum of Offering. To talk about how we can work with you to fashion high-return investment projects that fit your needs, please contact us. We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Investment Approach

Coming together under the EPEG banner, our investment team offers an extensive track record of success. Significant expertise and an aggressive but disciplined approach is the key to providing exceptional returns while limiting project risk. It is our belief that the truly untapped opportunity in Russia is not the recent stellar performance of a few listed companies on the stock market but rather small and medium sized businesses just now reaching the level of sophistication necessary to exploit the opportunities offered by an increasingly wealthy country of 145 million. With the period of 1991 to 1999 essentially lost years, growth and development of markets to serve this vast population has occurred only recently. With grocery chains, pharmacies, service companies and retailers, among others, growing quickly and many new segments just now developing critical mass such as consumer credit, business leasing, tourism, and suburbs construction, lower mid-market private equity is poised to outperform. The current Russian government has implemented a simplified tax policy while boosting tax collection. Disposable income levels have doubled in five years feeding rapid consumer-led expansion. There is strong strategic interest boosting trade sales along with good domestic liquidity. The majority of direct investments are in the middle market, with a focus on expansion-stage or early-stage deals and an average deal size of US$5 million. The Russian opportunity is retail rather than tech. Developed markets require outsized risks to pursue outsized returns. In Russia, real opportunities for superior returns can be had by investing in a small retail chain requiring capital and management expertise before being sold to a strategic player in 3-5 years. Russian managers are exceedingly bright but there is a real lack of quality management systems and practices, transparency and internationally accepted accounting practices. This is an area where private equity can add the most value. Introduction of transparent accounting and financial controls and good corporate governance directly contributes to higher exit valuations. Alternately, capital scarcity is still a real issue for most Russian companies. Fragmented markets populated by dozens of growing mid-market companies without access to expansion-stage capital are a great environment for private equity.

EPEG is committed to the following five major principles:

Aggressive but Disciplined: An aggressive but disciplined investment philosophy produces the highest returns while effectively managing risk. We seek to make sound investments in undervalued companies Specialization: EPEG focuses on specific market opportunities where it can add value. In-depth knowledge of specific geographic and business markets improves our ability to source and create deals, conduct effective due diligence, develop strong relationships with authorities and identify potential buyers as part of a coherent exit strategy. Sourcing: Dr. Kostikov, the EPEG team, and our service providers have a unique reach in identifying and capitalizing on opportunities well before they are available to others. We believe no other Western-oriented investment fund in Russia can match our deal flow. Adding Value: EPEG generally refrains from taking over companies where it doesn’t feel it can add value beyond financial engineering and the expansion of the company’s capital base. Results with Integrity: We pursue investments with the knowledge that everything we do reflects not only on ourselves but on our investment partners and business partners. EPEG’s success stems from an edge over our competition in the form of deep industry knowledge, geographical expertise, positive relationships with authorities, the ability to move quickly to commit to transactions, and/or the opportunity to participate in strategic joint ventures. Combined with an unbending commitment to the highest business ethics, EPEG is helping build the future in the new democracies of the Former Soviet States.

Legal Disclaimer: The Eurasian Private Equity Group is duly registered and subject to the laws of the its domicile and places where it conducts business to include The Russian Federation, the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States and Eastern Europe and any other place where it may undertake projects. Prospective investors should be aware and adhere to the laws of their home country and avail themselves to professional counsel and advice as to the legality of investing in our funds before subscribing.